Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The Power of Words | Historical Books | 2 Kings 22:1-7

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

Your words matter. Do you use your words to encourage others? Or do you waste your words? In today's episode, Tanya shares how 2 Kings 22:1-7 encourages us to use our words to speak the good in others for God's glory. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Kings 22:1-7

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. I am a firm believer in the power of a message. One of the greatest things you can do for the people in your life is to speak the good in them and speak it often. Your kids, your spouse, your roommates, your friends, they're inundated with messages that they aren't good enough. If your focus is also on that message or on the negative, you're only fueling what they already hear, probably even believing about themselves. The Bible doesn't echo the lie that we're not good enough.

The Bible reveals true words, truth about who God is and who we are because of him. It shows us that words have power, and that when they're rooted in truth, they can restore, they can convict, they can counsel, they can bring life. That's what happens when Josiah takes the throne. God's word is uncovered and people's hearts and lives are changed. And you're going to hear more about that. It's in 2nd Kings chapter 22. Probably hear more about that even on tomorrow's episode. In the midst of a long reign of very corrupt leaders, 2nd Kings chapter 22 shines like a bright light at the end of a long dark alley. Israel's been through it. They've had kings that come to power and lead them half-heartedly and foolishly. Israel needs a bright light. In 2 Kings 22, Josiah takes the throne. He's only 8 years old, but the way he's described surpasses all the other kings. Finally, here is a leader whose heart is in the right place, wholly focused on God. Finally, here is a leader that fulfills God's vision for how Israel should be led. It says of Josiah, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David's father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

those are the words that described him. But it wasn't only a matter of being. It was also what he did that made a huge impact on the people of Israel. Remember, their temple was not taken care of like it should have been. It was a divided place where God was worshipped as a choice, among many other choices. The high places, as they were called, were given over to worship foreign gods and deities, and people were playing a spiritual game of darts, like which God will help me with this, instead of dedicating their allegiance and their love to the one true God of Israel. In the 18th year of his reign and when Josiah was 26 years old, he started a campaign that was within his scope of power and control. It was simply to restore the temple.

But this simple choice made a huge difference because in restoring the temple, God's word was uncovered and read aloud. And for the first time in generations, people heard and were convicted about God's holiness. This is one of the greatest examples of the power of God's word to change people's hearts in all the Bible. If God's word can bring that kind of renewal, it reminds us

that our words have power too. As his image bears, the things we speak carry weight. They have the power to shape or break. Our words have power to mold or manipulate. Our words have power to strengthen

or weaken. Our words matter, and they need a good source. They need to come from a truth that is bigger than our personal motivations and desires. Our words need to be shaped by God's word, because God has set a high bar for his people. He calls us to be faithful to him, not turning to the right or the left, following his word. When we speak the good in others, our words can do three things. First, our words keep others on course when we see our roommates, co-workers, friends, and our spouses

standing strong and living out their faith even when it's costly or unrecognized we can use words to encourage them our words can encourage them to stay on course and remind them that God sees them and God is faithful to keep them second our words can point others toward the finish line

God's vision is for us to grow one day we will be made holy and sinless. That's our finish line. Even though we're still in the middle of the race. When we see the good and speak it regularly, we keep that finish line in view for the people who hear us. We remind them they are living in a bigger story, where everything doesn't have to be made right and go well for them right now.

Their hope is in the risen Savior. Third, our words anchor others in their true identity. When we see the good and speak what we see, we can remind others that their true identity is in Jesus. When our kids, friends, are sure of their true identity, their light will shine to others. God's light will shine through them to their teachers, their friends, their teammates, their fraternity brothers, their siblings. Knowing their identity in Christ will spread the hope, joy, and peace of God's grace and mercy without them even saying a word. That's the power of our words, as they're

shaped by God's word. They keep us steady. They keep us growing. They keep us grounded in who we're meant to be. I don't know if using your words like this comes naturally to you, or if this is something you'll have to work on. If it does come naturally, make sure you use your words to mold and not manipulate, not for your glory, but for gods. Just speaking from personal experience when we're good with words and can be really easy to have, to use them to have power for people. If it doesn't come naturally to you. Think about a handful of people who would benefit from hearing what you see in them. Write it down. Pray for an opportunity to share. In the public relations world, we have a saying goes like this. Say it clearly. Say it often. And in God's word, the same principle holds true.

See the good. Speak it often. Let your words point others back to the one who is always good, always faithful, and always worthy of praise. Lord, thank you for the gift. of your word and the power you give to ours. Help us see what you see in others and speak life that builds, restores, and reminds them who they are in you. May every word we speak draw others closer to your heart. Amen.